Bonding Time
by BubbleUmbrella
Summary: Oogway thinks that Shifu isn't spending enough time with his students, so he asks him to spend an entire day with them without training them. Shifu tries to have a normal day, but with five energetic children along for the ride, how normal can it be? R&R!
1. Prologue

Hello, everyone! Welcome to Bonding Time.

This story has a plot to it, but I need you all to help contribute to it! You see, Shifu and the Furious Five do different activities together, and if there's something that you want to see them do, like go to an amusement park or something, then you'll write it in your review(don't worry, I'll credit you!). I already have the first activity planned out, and it'll appear in the next chapter, and this is a prologue to help set the scene.

All right, boring stuff aside, let's get this show on the road! Enjoy!

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Shifu ran as fast as his little legs would carry him to the Sacred Hall of Heroes. His master, Oogway, had summoned him, and as always, Shifu presumed that something was wrong. He skidded to a stop inside of the Sacred Hall in front of the giant tortoise, who really was giant compared to Shifu.

"Master Oogway," said Shifu, bowing. "what is it? Is there something wrong?"

"Shifu, again," said Oogway, smiling reassuringly at Shifu. "just because I called you here doesn't mean something is wrong."

"…Okay." said Shifu. "So, what did you summon me for?"

"Shifu," said Oogway. "where are your students?"

"Huh?" said Shifu, his eyes widening a bit. "Um, they're in their rooms, Master. They're asleep. Or at least they should be…" Shifu's eyes darted to the side as he recalled the many times he found Monkey or Mantis in someone's rooms and having rather noisy conversations with them.

"Hm." said Oogway. "So you know where they are."

"…Yes, Master." said Shifu, a little confused. Was this what he summoned him for? Why? And why'd he have to do it at three in the morning!? "Um, is this why you called me here?"

"Oh, not entirely." said Oogway. "It's just that lately you've seemed a bit…disconnected from them."

"…I don't understand." said Shifu.

"Well," said Oogway. "I've noticed that you don't spend a lot of time with them, Shifu."

"Yes I do, Master!" argued Shifu. "I train with them every day!"

"And then what?" asked Oogway.

"What do you mean 'and then what'?" said Shifu.

"What do you do with them besides training with them?" asked Oogway.

"I…" said Shifu. "I…hm…" He thought for a moment, and when he couldn't think of anything, his ears flattened in defeat.

"Shifu," said Oogway, smiling kindly at his student. "'Master' is not the only connection that your students should have with you. They should be able to look to you as a friend, as well."

"…But Master." said Shifu. "I've tried that method before, and I know you remember the results of that."

Oogway nodded in agreement. The last time Shifu was friendly with a student, he almost completely destroyed the Valley of Peace and tried to steal the Legendary Dragon Scroll. "It's true," he said. "but you must also be able to learn from the mistakes you've made in the past. Do you remember why Tai Lung acted that way after I refused to give him the Dragon Scroll?"

Shifu thought this over for a moment. "I…I guess I didn't prepare him for failure, and when he did fail, he didn't know how to react to it." he tried.

"Yep!" said Oogway. "You also spoiled him rotten."

"That too." chuckled Shifu.

"So," said Oogway. "you must learn how to connect with your students in a way that prepares them for failure without hurting their confidence, and love them unconditionally without spoiling them. That is your challenge."

"…I accept." said Shifu, who wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

"And to help you," said Oogway. "you will spend an entire day with them without training."

"What?!" said Shifu. "But…But Master-"

"Shifu," said Oogway, cutting Shifu off. "trust me. It's for the best. All you have to do is think of some activities you could all do together, all right?"

"Yes, Master Oogway." said Shifu, bowing.

"Good!" said Oogway, smiling. "You are dismissed."

Shifu turned and left the Sacred Hall of Heroes with much less haste than he had upon arriving. Sure they were his students, but there was a reason why he only trained with them and never took them anywhere: They were rowdy little things. Even Viper, the self-proclaimed "lady" of the group, had lots of energy. The question was: how was he going to keep up with them for an entire day? He shook his head in confusion, hoping that he could get some ideas after a good night's sleep.


	2. Crullers and Crayons

The next morning went like any other morning at the Jade Palace: the morning gong sounded, and all five of his students stepped out of their rooms to greet Shifu, who was at the end of the hall.

"Good morning, Master!" said the students in unison.

"…Shifu!" continued Mantis. He covered his mouth with his forelegs in embarrassment. "Oops."

"I have some news for you, everyone." said Shifu. "There will be no training today."

The students stared at him wide-eyed for a few seconds.

"YAAAY!" cheered the students, scaring Shifu half to death.

"Let me finish!" snapped Shifu, silencing them immediately. "Master Oogway said that we needed more bonding time, so he said we should spend today doing bonding activities."

"Bonding activities?" asked Mantis, a look of suspicion on his face. "Sounds boring."

"It doesn't have to be." said Shifu. "I mean, if you want, you all could pick the activities yourselves."

The students then all tried to tell Shifu their ideas at once, filling the hallway with noise that got louder as they tried to talk over one another.

"One at a time!" said Shifu, massaging his temples and deeply regretting his decision to take on five seven-year-old students at once.

"Can we go out to breakfast, Master Shifu?" piped Viper in her sing-songy voice.

"Go out?" said Shifu. "Viper, there's no sense in going out to eat when we have a gourmet chef to cook for us."

"But he doesn't give us crayons!" argued Viper. This was a great reason to go out according to the other children, especially Monkey.

"Yeah! I looove crayons!" cried Monkey, getting hyper off of the mere idea of crayons. "Let's go to a restaurant! Pleeeeze? Please-please-please-please!"

"I don't know…" said Shifu.

"Restaurant!" chanted Monkey. "Restaurant! Restaurant!"

Since Monkey wasn't getting punished, the others decided that it would be a good idea to jump in, too. "Restaurant! Restaurant! Restaurant!"

Unable to take it anymore, Shifu rolled his eyes and said, "All right, all right! We'll go out to eat!"

"YAAAAAY!" cheered the students, jumping for joy.

"Well, come on." said Shifu. "We need to get there before the breakfast rush."

"Yes Master Shifu!" said the students. They all followed after Shifu, talking nonstop.

*******************************************************************************

Viper was happily twirling around her long, red ribbon she'd grabbed from her room and humming a little song when she felt a flick on the back of the head. "Ow!" she cried. She looked behind her at Monkey and Mantis, but they looked pretty innocent, so she turned back around. A few seconds later, she felt another flick. "Ow!" she cried. She turned back again. "Cut it out!" she said.

"Cut what out?" said Mantis, trying not to laugh.

"Flicking me in the back of the head!" said Viper.

"It wasn't us!" said Monkey. "It was…It was Crane."

"Huh?" said Crane, looking around. "Who said my name?"

"Ugh!" said Viper. "I oughta knock you both out right now! But…ladies don't hit unless it's self defense." She turned up her nose in a dignified manner and slithered ahead.

"What's the matter, Viper?" asked Tigress. "You don't usually walk that way unless you're mad."

"Monkey and Mantis are idiots." Viper said, an aristocratic flair to her voice.

"Why?" said Tigress. She smiled. "I mean, why else?"

"They keep flicking me in the back of my head!" said Viper. She turned back to them. "I know you did it! You can't hide it from me!"

"Hide what from you?" asked Monkey.

"Ugh!!" said Viper. "You both are impossible!" She turned her back to the two boys, who were now laughing their heads off. They walked in silence after a while until Crane let out a sharp yelp, startling everyone.

"Ow!" he cried. He knew Monkey threw a pebble at him just now, but he didn't want to get him in trouble. _I don't want him mad at me…_he thought. _No! It's time I stood up for myself!_ "Monkey, I know you threw that rock at me!"

"I did not." lied Monkey.

"I'm not like Viper, Monkey!" said Crane. "I…I won't put up with your shenanigans!"

"Oh yeah?" laughed Monkey. "What're you gonna do about it?"

"I'm…I'm…I'm telling on you!" said Crane. As he said this, the sky immediately grew dark, and lightning flashed across the sky.

"No!" cried Monkey. He fell to his knees, then scooted over at Crane's feet to bow. "Please! I'll do anything!" he groveled.

"…Anything?" asked Crane.

"Anything!!" said Monkey. If Shifu found out that he was throwing rocks at people, he'd be in for the workout of his life the next day. "Just don't tell him!!"

"…I'll think about it." said Crane, smiling smugly. He wasn't planning on telling on Monkey, but he'd never had complete control over anyone before. He felt so wrong for controlling Monkey like that, but at the same time, so…invigorated!

"O-okay." stuttered Monkey. He walked in tense silence all the way to Han's Breakfast Hut, where he and his classmates were going to eat.

They entered the small building, which was bustling with activity even before the morning rush. Shifu watched in awe as rabbit waitresses flew from table to table, carrying trays stacked dangerously high with ceramic dishes with grace and skill comparable to his own. His trance was broken when someone tapped him on the top of his head. He looked up and saw a rabbit smiling down at him from the podium she was standing behind.

"Hello!" she said. "Welcome to Han's Breakfast Hut! Table of one?"

"No, no." said Shifu. He pointed his students, who seemed to be hypnotized by the fish swimming around in the fish tank near the door. "I'm taking my students out to eat."

"Oh!" said the rabbit. "Isn't that sweet! I wish my master and I did these sorts of things together."

"You studied kung fu?" asked Shifu, stunned.

"Yeah, a little bit." said the rabbit. "But it just wasn't my thing, y'know?"

"Oh." said Shifu, trying to make small talk. "I understand. Everyone has a change of heart once in a while…"

"Yup." said the rabbit. "So! Smoking or non?"

"Non." said Shifu, who was taken by surprise by the rabbit's sudden change of attitude.

"Okay!" said the rabbit. She stepped down from the podium, with menus and crayons in her hand. "Follow me!"

"Students!" called Shifu. "It's time to go."

"Coming!" sang Tigress, leading the others to Shifu. The rabbit led them to a booth towards the back of the restaurant.

"I call window!" said Crane, sliding over the leather seat and stopping next to the wall, where the window was. He enjoyed watching the people of the Valley of Peace go about their business close-up, not from the window in his room.

"Aw, I wanted the window!" whined Mantis.

"Well, you can sit on the other side." said Crane.

"Too late!" said Monkey, who was sitting across from Crane, next to the window.

"Master Shifu!!" cried Mantis, close to tears. He really wanted to sit near the window.

Shifu sighed. "Mantis, just take a seat." he said. "You can sit next to the window next time."

"Yay!" said Mantis, hopping onto the table between Tigress and Viper.

"Wow." said the rabbit. "Five students, huh?"

"Yes." said Shifu. He put his chin in his hand. "What was I thinking…" he groaned.

"Well, I'm sure it'll pay off in the end!" laughed the waitress. "Anyhoo, my name is Guo, and I'll be your server on this fine morning!" She gave them a sunny smile.

"Your smile is so pretty!" said Viper.

"Oh, thank you!" said Guo. "Um, our special today is our soybean milk, with a brand-new recipe."

"What's new about it?" asked Shifu.

"Oh, we use more sugar now." said Guo. "Makes it sweeter."

"Really?!" said Monkey.

"No!" snapped Shifu. There was no way Monkey was going to have anything with sugar in it so that he could give him more of a headache.

"Bang, shot down!" said Mantis.

"Now," said Guo. "I'll give you a little time to order, and then I'll come back." She looked at Shifu. "And I just have to say, it's so great to serve such a powerful kung fu master!"

"Uh, you're welcome." said Shifu.

"Okay, see you later!" said Guo. Then she turned and skipped off to another table.

"…She's a little airheaded, isn't she?" said Shifu after she was out of earshot.

"Mmhm." said Crane, a jeering smile on his face. "And if I didn't know any better, I'd say she was flirting with you, Master Shifu!"

"Well, you don't know any better." said Shifu, unfazed. He began to look over the menu. "I wasn't interested, anyway."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." said Mantis. "I mean, she's about 22, right? And you're like, eighty."

"I'm forty-five!" said Shifu, slapping the menu back onto the table.

"…You look eighty." said Monkey.

"I know!" said Shifu, insulted. "It's all your fault, too. The stress you've caused me has made my hair grey…"

"That doesn't explain the wrinkles." said Tigress, making the other children(except Viper) burst out laughing.

"…Just color." said Shifu, giving Tigress a warning look.

"Don't hafta tell me twice!" said Monkey. "I frikkin LOVE COLORING!" He then began scribbling ferociously on his placemat with his red crayon.

"That wasn't funny, you guys!" said Viper. "You shouldn't laugh at Master Shifu!"

"Like you weren't laughing, Viper." laughed Crane.

"I wasn't!" Viper snapped. She hated when her teammates made fun of Shifu like this. He was the best master ever; strong and wise and kind…at times. It was these traits that made Viper decide that she was going to marry him one day. Trying to calm herself down, she grabbed a pink crayon and began scribbling away on her placemat.

"Whatcha drawin'?" asked Tigress, who was doing the same with a green crayon. "I'm drawing a tree."

"You'll see in a moment." sang Viper.

"Give it back!!" cried Mantis.

"No! I had it first!" cried Crane. The two of them were fighting over the yellow crayon.

"You put it down!"

"So?! I still had it!!"

"What is the problem?!" said Shifu.

"He won't give me my crayon!" screamed Mantis.

"I had it first!" screamed Crane.

"Give me that!" snapped Shifu, snatching the crayon and breaking it in half. He gave the pointed end to Crane and the flat end to Mantis. Crane cheered, but Mantis just stared at his crayon end with a frown on his face. "What, Mantis?" asked Shifu.

"…I wanted the pointy end." said Mantis. "How am I gonna color with this?!"

Shifu was really restraining himself now. "…Look." he said in a threatening tone. "All of you. I am two seconds from leaving this restaurant and taking you back up to the Jade Palace and playing mahjongg the whole day, and you know I have no problem doing it! Do you want that?"

The students shook their heads violently.

"Then you better be on your best behavior the whole day, and nothing less!" said Shifu. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Master Shifu." said the students.

"All right." said Shifu, proud of himself for handling his students. "Now pick out something to eat before Guo comes back."

At this, the students all looked at their menus, desperate to avoid punishment.

"Master Shifu!" said Viper after deciding what to eat. "Look at what I drew!" She held up her placemat and pointed to her drawing with her tail.

"Oh…!" said Shifu, who wasn't quite sure what the drawing was depicting. "An elephant!"

"It's you!" cried Viper, shocked. She sniffed as her blue eyes filled with tears.

"…Oh." said Shifu, his eyes widening. He covered his mouth. "I'm sorry Viper, but it really looked like a…" he stopped himself before he dug himself into an even deeper hole. As Viper bawled uncontrollably, he desperately tried to think of something to say to make her stop. "Uh…it's a very nice picture…of me…"

"Really?" sobbed Viper.

"Y-yes!" said Shifu, glad that his plan was working. "I'll hang it up in my room when we get home…so I can always look at it."

"Thank you, Master Shifu!" said Viper. She smiled broadly at the thought of Shifu, her future husband, hanging a picture she drew up in his room. Maybe this meant he liked her too? A giggle slipped out as she thought about how glamorous their wedding was going to be.

"What's so funny?" asked Crane.

"Nothing!" said Viper.

"Hello!" said Guo, walking up to the table. "Have you decided what to eat yet?"

"I want the crullers!" said Tigress. "Could you fry them a little longer than usual? I like them extra crispy."

"I'll have that too." said Crane.

"I want scrambled eggs." said Mantis.

"With or without chives?" asked Guo.

"What are chives?" asked Mantis.

"Oh, they're like trailer trash." said Tigress.

"Those are chavs, Tigress." said Shifu. "Chives are a kind of seasoning."

"Oh." said Mantis. "Okay. I'll have it with chives."

"I'll have the duck congee." said Shifu.

"I'll have what he's having." said Viper.

"I want the breakfast sampler!" said Monkey.

"Are you sure?" asked Guo. "It's a lot of food…"

"I know." said Monkey. "But I can eat it!"

"Trust me, he can eat it." said Shifu.

"If you say so." said Guo, smiling. "Is that all?"

"Oh, can we have another yellow crayon, please?" asked Shifu.

"Of course!" said Guo. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a yellow crayon. "Here!" she said, handing it to Shifu.

"Thank you." said Shifu. He gave the crayon to Mantis, who rejoiced.

"Hey!" said Crane. "How come he gets a whole crayon?"

"Don't start!" said Shifu, pointing to Crane and narrowing his eyes.

Crane sighed and went back to coloring with his half of a crayon.

"All righty!" said Guo. "I'll be back with your food in a moment!" She scurried away.

"Hey, let's play a game while we wait for the food!" said Tigress.

"Yeah!" sad Monkey, who loved games. "Games-games-games!"

"Let's play 'Truth Be Told'." said Crane.

"I'm game!" said Mantis.

"What's Truth Be Told?" asked Shifu.

"It's a game where someone asks you a question," explained Viper. "and you have to answer with the absolute truth. If you lie, then you have to do a dare!"

"Will you play with us, Master Shifu?" asked Monkey. "Please? You have to!"

"…Fine." said Shifu. Hopefully the food would come before they got into any personal questions.

"Okay!" said Tigress. "Who wants to ask me a question?"

"I will." said Mantis. "Tigress, have you ever eaten anything off the floor?"

"No!" said Tigress. "Well…once. It was an almond cookie."

"Ew!!" cried Mantis and Crane.

"I was two!" said Tigress. "I didn't know any better!"

"You're disgusting." laughed Mantis.

"Oh, quiet, you!" said Tigress. She turned to Viper. "Viper, is there anyone that you like?"

Viper was caught completely off-guard. She didn't think anyone would ask about that! "Um…" she said. "Sure! I like all of you!"

"…You know what I mean!" said Tigress. "Who do you think is the cutest, Viper?"

"Uh…" said Viper. She couldn't say Shifu, because everyone would think she was some sort of weirdo! "Monkey!" she blurted.

The whole table was stunned silent.

"…Whoa." said Mantis. "Didn't see that coming."

"R-Really, Viper?" asked Monkey. Nobody had ever said he was cute before except for his mother, and she was supposed to say that.

Viper smiled and nodded. She felt bad about lying to Monkey about something like this, but she wanted the spotlight off of her for a while.

"Monkey?" said Tigress. "Monkey?!? Are you serious?! I'm sorry, but your taste in men needs a serious upgrade, missy." She nodded at Monkey apologetically. "No offense, Monkey."

"Hmph!" said Viper, annoyed. "Well, Tigress! Who do you think is cute?!"

"Someone already asked me a question." said Tigress, smiling.

Viper glared at her, then turned to Shifu. "Master Shifu," she asked. "who do you think I the cutest out of all of us?" She flashed him a charming smile, hoping it would persuade him to say that she was the cutest.

Before Shifu could answer, Guo returned with the food. She put the plates in front of the person who ordered it.

"Well, here you are!" said Guo. "Eat up!"

"Thanks." said Shifu as Guo walked off. "Now, what were you saying, Viper?"

"Nothing…" said Viper, starting on her congee.

"Hm." said Shifu. He shrugged and started eating his breakfast, too.

The six of them ate breakfast, paid for their food, and left the restaurant, full of fuel for the activity-filled day ahead of them.

* * *

Okay, everyone, now it's your turn! What should Shifu and his students do next? Review or PM me you ideas, please. See you later! \/^_^


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